RALEIGH, N.C. – Wild goalie Alex Stalock has kept his suitcase cracked open on the floor of his closet this season, emptying out the contents to wash them before dumping them right back in once they're clean.
"The hardest part I think is the packing and getting on that initial, first plane ride," Stalock said. "You're like, 'Really? Are we doing this again?' "
After wrapping up a three-game trip Saturday at Carolina, the Wild will have completed nearly half of its road schedule in the first week of December by rattling off 20 away appearances in the team's first 30 games.
Only one other team (the Blackhawks in 2005-06) has played 20 of the first 30 on the road, according to NHL Stats.
And before this season, the most road games the Wild had logged in its first 30 was 17 in 2005-06 and 2009-10.
"It's been a lot, for sure," winger Kevin Fiala said. "We're excited to go home."
While this stretch has been unique, a mashup of 28 flights and 30 nights in a hotel over 39 days, it didn't ultimately wreck the Wild.
Instead, after overcoming a miserable start, the Wild has surged into a playoff spot amid the second-longest point streak in franchise history (8-0-3) — improvement that gives the team a terrific chance to hold on to a berth now that the schedule will begin to balance out.